🌳 New Hey Durham Dashboard Tracks Data on Crime, Housing and Health
TL;DR — 3 Things to Know This Week
- We launched a free public dashboard at heydurham.com/data tracking 59 metrics on crime, housing, health, schools, and more, every figure linked to its government source.
- Durham-based Higharc raised a $95M Series C and launched an AI estimating tool for building materials distributors with US LBM as its first partner.
- Joy Harrell Goff was named Durham Public Schools board chair 5-2, and Xavier Cason was unanimously chosen as vice-chair for the 2026-27 school year.
Hey Durham Launched a Free Dashboard Tracking 59 Durham Metrics
One place now holds Durham's numbers on crime, rent, health, schools, and six other categories, all sourced directly from city, county, and state agencies.
- The dashboard at heydurham.com/data tracks 59 metrics across 10 categories: public safety, housing, health, the city budget, schools, the economy, transportation, elections, environment, and city services. Every figure links back to its original government source.
- On crime, Durham's violent crime rate stood at 523 incidents per 100,000 residents in 2024, against a statewide average of 388. Property crime ran at 3,922 per 100,000, nearly double North Carolina's 2,050.
- On housing, the median home sale price hit $424,100 in 2025 and median rent reached $1,667 in 2024. More than a third of Durham households, 34.4%, spent over 30% of their income on housing in 2023.
Durham School Board Has New Leaders for the First Time in Years
With the 2026-27 school year underway, the Durham Public Schools board has a new chair, three freshly sworn-in members, and a salary question already on the table.
- Goff, elected at-large in 2024, was chosen as chair in a 5-2 vote. She has more than 20 years in education, including 13 years as a K-12 music teacher, and currently leads BUMP: The Triangle, a Durham-based youth arts program.
- Xavier Cason was unanimously chosen as vice-chair after Millicent Rogers nominated him. Cason previously served on the board from 2016 to 2020 and is now senior manager at the Durham Public Schools Foundation.
- Goff succeeds Bettina Umstead, who lost her May re-election bid to Nadeen Bir, one of three new members sworn in Monday before the leadership votes.
What to watch: The board ended the session by requesting a review of salaries for year-round educators. No timeline was set at Monday's meeting.
Quick Hits
- Durham-based Higharc raised a $95M Series C on June 30, bringing total funding past $170M, and launched an AI estimating tool for building materials distributors with US LBM as its first partner.
- Tarryn Henry is now permanent executive director of the Hayti Heritage Center at 804 Old Fayetteville St., after four months in the interim role. She's expanded artist memberships to $10-$35 a month with free rehearsal space and 80% rental discounts, and is launching a volunteer-hours-based donor program next month as the 51-year-old center begins preservation work on its historic campus.
- Ideal's Sandwich & Grocery is open until 6 p.m. starting Thursday, July 9, doubling its previous hours and extending service into dinner time for the first time in five years. Daily bread sales and online ordering are also coming in the weeks ahead.
Events
Blackberry Smoke
Fri, July 10 · DPAC
Flyers Ultimate vs Austin Sol
Fri, July 10 · Durham County Memorial Stadium
PLAYlist Presents: Shame Gang
Fri, July 10 · Durham Central Park
Summer Nights
Fri, July 10 · Museum of Life and Science
An Evening with Wilco
Sat, July 11 · DPAC
Geek and Grub Market (Anime Edition)
Sun, July 12 · Durham Armory
The Notebook
Tue, July 14 · DPAC
Maker Moves Lunch and Learn: How Two Hobbyists Turned Their Crafts into Local Businesses
Thu, July 16 · The Orenge - South Durham
Lindsey Stirling
Fri, July 17 · Red Hat Amphitheater
Real Estate
3312 Rugby Rd
$2,500,000 · 3 bed, 3 bath, 3,644 sqft
1021 Coley Rd
$999,900 · 4 bed, 4 bath, 2,798 sqft
5305 Oakbrook Dr
$569,900 · 5 bed, 4 bath, 3,071 sqft